Danfoss PAHT Pump Cuts Electrostatic Discharges and Energy Costs at Illinois Electronics Plant

Challenge:

Reduce the high energy costs of gas-fired humidification Everyone who has walked across a carpet and touched a metal doorknob in a cold winter knows the problem: ESD is a shocking reminder of how low humidity affects our environments. As uncomfortable as ESD can be to our fingertips, its effects are even more devastating for sensitive electronic devices. ESD can cause serious damage to circuit boards when they are being assembled or handled.

That is why Danfoss Power Electronics installed six gas-fired humidifiers when it expanded its production facility in Loves Park, Illinois in 2009.

The wall-mounted system never worked as expected, however. Essentially a boiling pot of water and a fan to disperse steam, the gas-fired system could not provide a consistent humidity level around the plant. What is more, it accounted for an eye-popping 40% of the plant’s overall natural gas consumption.

Solution:

A centralized high-pressure fogging system that uses no gas and keeps humidity levels even throughout the factory Andrew Keller of the maintenance department knew there had to be a better way, so he contacted Mee Industries to develop a fogging solution to replace the steam system.

Together, they configured a new system that suspended fogging nozzles from the ceiling throughout the plant. The nozzles are connected by pipe to a central high-pressure pump that maintains system pressure at 1000 psi during operation. Each nozzle creates a fine mist that evaporates within three feet, thus raising the air’s relative humidity reliably and consistently
everywhere in the plant.

The fogging system uses no gas whatsoever.